As the Leaf Turns
by SassafrasTea
Summary: Set four years after the 4th Shinobi War, about a refugee family locating to the Leaf. All the OOC are mine, but the rest aren't :sniffle, sniffle:
1. Chapter 1

The path to Konohagakure was beautiful. The large trees on either side made a natural trellis covering the path in dappled sunlight. The wind softly blew making each inhale a melody of smells as earthy forest and sunlight played for the lead.

Just past the Fire's border a small family was seen making its way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A young boy child rode an enormous grey and white wolf. Next to the child walked his older sister, one hand firmly gripping the back of her brother's shirt to stop any tumbles before they happen. At the lead of this small group was the children's mother. A long dusty brown cloak covered her from the neck down. Her hair was the color of mud and laid in a long solitary braid down her back. The Hitai-ate tied around her neck was completely blank. The face of the woman was completely unremarkable except for two prominent features. One was a scar that ran down the woman's cheek following the curve of her neck and disappearing into her cloak. The other was the woman's remarkable eyes. They were the brilliant shade of aged whisky held up to the sun, containing not only a remarkable color but also an intense glow.

Suddenly the sound of a ninja fight could be heard. Scaring the soft bird songs into silence and even the breeze seemed to stand still. The children could only hear the sounds of metal clashing, but the woman stood perfectly still and watched as a young boy with a long blue scarf tried desperately to defeat a man clearly on a better skill level. As the young boy crashed down unconscious onto the path in front of the group, with the large man following the woman quickly put her daughter on the wolves back behind her younger brother. She shared a look with the giant wolf and it immediately took off for the trees.

The woman then shed her cloak revealing dark hakama pants and a boiled leather chest piece over a mesh shirt. At the waist of her pants sat a standard ninja pack and large hunting knife. She then bit her thumb and slammed it to the ground causing two pure white wolves to appear.

"Save the boy! Take him to Taki!" She yelled as she body flickered in the nick of time using her hunting knife to block the sword drawn by the man on its way to the boy's throat. The two wolves quickly took a mouthful of fabric each from the boy's shirt and shot off into the woods.

The woman then pushed the man back and did a careful peruse taking in his hair, clothes and any identifying features, her mental bingo book whirling. "Ichinise Notaka. What's a big bounty like you doing so close to the leaf village?"

Notaka spit. "A bounty hunter, do you know how many bounty hunter heads; I have taken off. Although taking yours will be a shame. I want to keep those pretty little eyes shining. Maybe I'll just take them then go after that brat."

The woman sneered. "I bet you say that to all the girls. Did you try to get in the leaf village hoping to get some secrets, maybe? Four years after the war, the villages are still trying to get on their feet. Considering the bounty on your head is from the Wind country. I bet you tried to do it to the village in the sand. Bet that went fabulously. Tell me. Did one of the ninjas chase you out, or was it just a few housewives."

The man's face turned red. He would never admit that he was chased out by a very pregnant Wind mistress while trying to sneak into the Kazekage's office. Of course he knew if he even tried to fight her, her husband would bound him in shadows while her brother took his time tearing him in two with his sand. Not to mention what the puppet master would do to him. He still had the mark from her fan, evidently not being able to use charka did not mean she couldn't use fan as a blunt instrument.

The man jumped back doing a hand signal. He slammed his hands to the ground and mud erupted going towards the woman. She jumped straight up and came down on squatting like a frog. Ice spread out on top of the mud deep freezing it. The ice spread so fast that the man was unable to dodge and it climbed up freezing him where he stood. The only unfrozen place on him was the man's face.

The woman walked close to him. "You know. I could finish freezing you to kill you; I could just put my ice over your mouth and suffocate you. I want to. I could drag you back to the Kazekage and let him show you some tender mercy and collect the bounty. But I think the leaf wants to have a talk with you and since I am headed that way, I'll just make sure you can't make a mud pie out of my holding cell and take you to the Hokage. I hear he is a big fan of criminals who attack his ninja."

The man's eyes widened. "It is you. Uzumaki Hotaro. I have heard stories of a ninja turned bounty hunter whose kekkia genkai was ice. Who had a cell that she threw all her prisoners in for transport. You bitch, don't you dare. I ain't going to no frozen shit hole when we are so far from the leaf."

Taro paid no attention. She took a chakra damping chain and wrapped it around Ichinise. "Don't worry. The rest of my wolf pack lives in that frozen hell-hole. They will keep you company until I get to Konohagakure. Who knows I may decide to go sightseeing before I get there. "

Taro then grabbed a scroll from her pack and placed a paper jutsu on him. He then vanished into a puff of smoke and a seal appeared on the scroll. Taro put up her reverse summoning tools and dashed into the woods to her children and the unconscious leaf ninja.

Konohamaru was not having a good day. He along with his teammates sans Ebisu had been picked to sub as border patrol. And of course Udon had gotten hurt, which caused Moegi to stop and field dress his leg while Konohamaru scouted a quick look ahead. What he saw was a man running hell bent toward the border clutching scrolls. When the man turned and threw kunai at Konohamaru, he knew his intents were not benign.

Konohamaru began running towards the man after blocking the kunai intended for his face. As soon as He got towards the man, he knew he outmatched. He could feel the waves of killing intent roll off the man. He made the split decision to engage and hope the rest of his squad met up to him in time. His ninja way was protecting his village and he was going to follow it.

Konohamaru gave the fight his all, valiantly trying to stay one step ahead of the man and dodging blow after blow. The man didn't even give him a chance to weave chakra in a Kage No Bushu. Konohamaru was thankful the man seemed fine fighting just through Taijutsu; He knew he would be dead in an instance otherwise. Suddenly the man body flickered behind Konohamaru and dealt him a blow to the back of the head, as he fell to the ground the last thing he saw was the man pulling a short sword and coming down for a finishing blow.

When Konohamaru awoke, the first thing he realized was that he hurt too much to be dead. The second thing was that some giant animal was currently sniffing his crotch. When he tried to shift away from the Beast on par if not bigger than Akamaru, it growled low in its throat. As he was debating if he would rather die or be sans balls, a young voice spoke up.

"Ni, if Mom wanted him brought here, he must not be a threat. He's just a boy and a Leaf ninja at that. Let him be."

Konohamaru shifted his eyes toward his newfound savior. It was a young girl with sandy red blonde hair and striking green eyes. She looked like an academy student. Next to her, clutching her shirt was a smaller boy with a redder tint to his hair but the same green eyes. Their eyes were the dark green of moss with small shots of a amber brown in them. He wondered briefly if they were natural genjutsu users.

"What happened to me?" Konohamaru ventured to ask. "Where is the man I was fighting?"

The great animals, all three of them, which appeared to be some type of white wolf monster hybrid snuffed. The girl looked aghast. She turned towards the wolves and growled at them. They growled back louder. She stomped her foot and rumbled a menacing growl deep in her throat followed by a "Mom did not say that." The wolves huffed again and the smaller two of the three disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What did they say?"

The girl looked at Konohamaru. "They said Mom said that they could eat you. I knew they were lying and told them that I would tell on them. That's why they disappeared. I'm Taki by the way. This is my brother Tonto and he." She gestured towards the last wolf remaining, "is Ni."

"I don't know what happened to you. We saw you in a fight and Mom put me on Ni and told him to take me and brother to hide. We weren't here but a minute when San and She came with you. Sorry about your clothes."

Konohamaru looked for the first time at himself. Each shoulder of his shirt had teeth marks and rips in it from where the animals had run with him. He smiled a little to himself. At least he wasn't dead.

Suddenly a woman jumped into the clearing. Konohamaru jumped up with the thought of protecting the children, when they ran past him and hugged the woman.

"I'm so glad you okay Mom." Tomoe said, clutching onto the woman for dear life. The woman smiled and sat down holding both children on her lap. Tonto gripped her cloak hard and hid his face.

Hotaro gently put her thumb under his chin and lifted it so he could look at her. "I'm fine baby. Momma won, ok." The little boy smiled and climbed of her to cuddle against the wolf.

The woman looked at the Konohamaru. "I see you had a run in with Ichinise Notaka. He's a Class A felon with good reason. I am headed to the Leaf Village, I have him reverse summoned into a cell. Since we are headed to the Leaf village ourselves, I will keep him until we get there and you can present him to your Hokage. I took scrolls off of him." She handed Konohamaru three bound scrolls. "They have the Leaf symbol on them so you should give them to your Hokage also."

Konohamaru could not stop staring at the woman's blank Hitai-ate. "Thank you for saving me and I will escort you to the Village, but who are you?"

The woman smiled and bowed a little. "My name is Uzumaki Hotaro and these are my children."

The last Konohamaru expected was to be unconscious for the second time that day.


	2. Chapter 2

Author Note: I know this is a short chapter, but I am working on the big Ah-Ha moment when Naruto and Hotaro meet. Just you wait it will be awesome. Also I am going to try and update once a week or so, but alas I have a full time manual labor job and am trying to remodel a house so my updates have to work around my responsibilities. Toodles and thanks for reading.

*Also Hotaro's daughter name is Taki, I was trying out different names and used Tomeo, but I like Taki better and forgot to change it.

Chapt. 2

It was the strangest trip back to the Village hidden in the Leaves that Konohamaru had ever made and that included the time he came back dressed in nothing but his small clothes. After meeting up with Udon and Moegi, he had briefly explained the situation as well as he knew it, and the unlikely and rather motley group took the long road home. Each of Team Ebisu stole looks at Uzumaki Hotaro and her children trying to see a resemblance to Naruto. There was none. Udon came to the conclusion that she was Naruto's long lost wife and had come to reclaim her role. Konohamaru knew that wasn't the case. His big brother Naruto was many things, a letch and clown to say the least but a cheater he wasn't.

Hotaro smiled to herself. She knew the shinobi children were confused and wary of her and even more so of Ni. She wondered what they would think when they realized her true intent for coming to the Leaf. As she chuckled to herself Taki looked up at her. "Mom, I'm worried."

"About what, Honey?" Hotaro said.

"I am worried that we won't fit in. And that I..that I won't know as much as I should. I don't want people to think I am dumb because I haven't gone to school before." Taki said in a rush.

Hotaro thought for a minute. "Tell you what. If anyone makes fun of you I want you to ignore it. You have value. You are smart, and if these bullies to be of yours don't see it then it is on them." Hotaro then leaned close to her daughter's ear. "But if any one of them lays a hand on you, I want you to kick their asses so hard that years later every time they drop their pants the imprint of your foot will forever remind them of their mistake of picking on you." Mother and daughter grinned at each other and continued along the path.

After days of walking the unlikely group made it to the main gate of Konohagakure. The red pillars and large wooden green doors opened to a ramp leading down into the rebuilt Leaf Village, a sharp reminder that the Village had personally seen War. Drifting up the ramp, the bustle of ninjas and civilians going about their lives could be faintly heard. Hotaro gave a sigh of relief at the sound of children laughing and commerce taking place. Hotaro and her children, Tonto still riding on Ni, stopped at the check in gate with Team Ebisu. Izumo and Kotetsu straightened from their slouches and critically looked over the new arrival.

Konohamaru told the lazy guards that they needed to meet with the Hokage as soon as possible. Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other and nodded as they came to a silent agreement. Izumo stood. "Konohamaru, you and the rest of your team go to the Hokage's office. However the rest of you must will need an Anbu escort."

Konohamaru started to argue but Hotaro stuck out her hand. "Konohamaru, it has been a pleasure to meet you and your team. I am sure we will be seeing more of each other. When I meet with the Hokage I will release Ichinise from the summoning for the authorities to deal with. I understand the caution. I am an unknown entity with no identifying Hitai-ate." With no choice left to him, Konohamaru left the fascinating family that saved his life and ran to tell his adopted brother.

Uzumaki Naruto did not like paperwork. In fact he hated it with the passion of a thousand suns. In fact given a choice he would gladly set fire to all the paperwork on his desk and gleefully dance on the ashes. But he knew it was all part of the job, and since Shizune had been reassigned to the hospital at her own request, he knew he was on his own. Besides with any luck something would happen that would separate him for awhile from the evil paperwork crowding his desk.

Suddenly Konohamaru burst through the door. "Brother Naruto, you are not going to believe what happened!"


End file.
